The LittleBigFund collects small charitable donations to form a big fund that is then given to one nonprofit determined by donor vote has just launched.

The LittleBigFund collects small charitable donations to form a big fund that is then given to one nonprofit determined by donor vote has just launched.

What is the LittleBigFund?

A crowdfunding nonprofit organization, launched June 8th to collect small charitable donations to form a big fund that is then given to one nonprofit determined by donor vote.

How does the LittleBigFund work?

Working with three regionally focused nonprofit organizations a month, The LittleBigFund tells each nonprofit’s story, promotes their cause, and then lets donors vote for the organization they believe is most deserving of the fund they raised together. At the end of the month, the organization whose story resonated the most with the donors receives the entire fund. All organizations receive assets to use in their future fundraising campaigns.

The LittleBigFund is, at its core, a storyteller – and not just for nonprofits, but for donors. With direct access to the nonprofit that receives the gift, donors feel like they made a huge impact with a small action. The site continues to gather stories from the organization that received the fund, giving donors tangible results.

The site takes crowdfunding to the next level, by making sure each donation matters. Preselecting, vetting, and working with only three nonprofits a month ensures that each cause is legitimate, responsible, interesting and deserving. With a focus on monthly recurring donations, it empowers donors to feel that their small donations make a big difference. The LittleBigFund takes a zero percent cut of donations and is supported entirely through optional donations. It  is current seeking tax exempt.

How can I contribute to the LittleBigFund?

It’s easy! Visit the site and read about the three nonprofit/charity organizations that have been pre-selected. Then select your donation amount; we’ve made contributing as simple as possible. Once you’ve made your contribution you can then vote for the nonprofit you’ve like to see the funds go toward. At the end of the month the funds are given to the charity with the most votes!

For more information or to donate visit the site. For up to date info visit the blog.

You can follow the LittleBigFund on social media too! We’re on Google+, Facebook, and Twitter!

By: Planetary Collective
Source: http://vimeo.com/planetarycollective

Check out the trailer for our feature film CONTINUUM: https://vimeo.com/60234866
If you’d like more information about CONTINUUM and how you can support & even pre-order the film, check out: http://www.continuumthemovie.com.

On the 40th anniversary of the famous ‘Blue Marble’ photograph taken of Earth from space, Planetary Collective presents a short film documenting astronauts’ life-changing stories of seeing the Earth from the outside – a perspective-altering experience often described as the Overview Effect.

The Overview Effect, first described by author Frank White in 1987, is an experience that transforms astronauts’ perspective of the planet and mankind’s place upon it. Common features of the experience are a feeling of awe for the planet, a profound understanding of the interconnection of all life, and a renewed sense of responsibility for taking care of the environment.

‘Overview’ is a short film that explores this phenomenon through interviews with five astronauts who have experienced the Overview Effect. The film also features insights from commentators and thinkers on the wider implications and importance of this understanding for society, and our relationship to the environment.

CAST
• EDGAR MITCHELL – Apollo 14 astronaut and founder of the Institute of Noetic Sciences
• RON GARAN – ISS astronaut and founder of humanitarian organization Fragile Oasis
• NICOLE STOTT – Shuttle and ISS astronaut and member of Fragile Oasis
• JEFF HOFFMAN – Shuttle astronaut and senior lecturer at MIT
• SHANE KIMBROUGH – Shuttle/ISS astronaut and Lieutenant Colonel in the US Army
• FRANK WHITE – space theorist and author of the book ‘The Overview Effect’
• DAVID LOY- philosopher and author
• DAVID BEAVER – philosopher and co-founder of The Overview Institute
———-
CREW
Produced by: GUY REID, STEVE KENNEDY, CHRISTOPHER FERSTAD
Director: GUY REID
Editor: STEVE KENNEDY
Director of Photography: CHRISTOPHER FERSTAD
Original Score: HUMAN SUITS
Dubbing Mixer: PATCH MORRISON
———-
TECHNICAL INFORMATION
Filmed with Canon 5D Mk ii.
Additional footage from NASA / ESA archives
Duration: 19 minutes
———-

Planetary Collective: http://www.planetarycollective.com/
Overview Microsite: http://www.overviewthemovie.com/
Human Suits (original score): http://www.humansuits.com/

For more information:
The Overview Institute: http://www.overviewinstitute.org/
Fragile Oasis: http://www.fragileoasis.org/

By: Sam K. Hale
Source: http://vimeo.com/yamasong

With fresh excitement over the making of a new Star Wars movie, three children (and some, ahem, adults) set out to make a trailer for a possible Episode 7. Shooting in beautiful Los Angeles including famous Vasquez Rocks and supplementing with VFX and sounds inspired by Star Wars, this short teaser asks the question what a galaxy far, far away be like with Junior Jedi protecting it. Winner – Best Group Project. Premiered at Encino Charter Elementary School Movie Night on April 27, 2013. Starring Marley Gonzales, Kai Hale and Liam Hale.

“Without promotion something terrible happens… Nothing!” ~ P.T. Barnam

Every business wants to get the most out of their Facebook page. It’s difficult to grow your page without defined strategies. If you read my blog with any consistency, you know I continually reinforce the need for your business to have a solid content strategy. Great content is how you continue to engage with your current and future customers and should always be a cornerstone to your Social marketing.

“Without promotion something terrible happens… Nothing!” ~ P.T. Barnam

Every business wants to get the most out of their Facebook page. It’s difficult to grow your page without defined strategies. If you read my blog with any consistency, you know I continually reinforce the need for your business to have a solid content strategy. Great content is how you continue to engage with your current and future customers and should always be a cornerstone to your Social marketing.

Many businesses find the job of creating and publishing great content to be challenging. They feel more comfortable in the “traditional” marketing arena known as Promotion. Promoting your Facebook page is another important component of your overall Social Media strategy. But promotion is all around us, and it can be difficult for businesses to break through the noise.

Even though the medium is different, the concepts behind promotion haven’t changed: get eyeballs on your message. The ultimate goal is to make a connection, have a conversation and, with some finesse, convert that into a sale. If you don’t have a strategy to promote your page or your business on Facebook, those conversations will take place elsewhere.

I’ve had many dealers and other businesses say to me, “You can’t measure Social Media ROI.” Respectfully, this is a misguided mindset. You most certainly can measure Social Media ROI if you know what your objectives are and you tie your results back to your goals. A solid promotion strategy includes analysis so you know which efforts are successful.

Promotion strategy is an integral part of your Facebook marketing plan. Keeping fans engaged with content is crucial but just as important is attracting more of those people who are most likely going to buy from you.  Answer this question, “How are we going to continually increase our Facebook fan base to generate leads and sales?” If you don’t have the answer right now, you’re not alone. Here are 5 tips to develop your Facebook promotion strategy:

1. Awareness in Real Life. What we see, we remember. Signage and other visual reminders in your store help boost the awareness of your Facebook page to your customers AND employees. It takes an effort to get employee buy-in and participation on Social and reminders are always necessary. Having a designated Social Media manager comes in handy here. They can continue to foster awareness around your page and instigate participation.

2. Facebook Ads. Perhaps the single greatest device for growing your fan base and increasing sales. Facebook makes it easy and affordable to amplify your reach with Promoted Posts (spending $5-$20 to show a post to a wider audience). The Ads Manager helps you create ads which target those that are most likely going to buy from you. Once they like your page, that opens up all opportunities to connect, converse and close deals.

3. Landing Pages. Facebook users like to stay on Facebook. Facebook Landing Pages are perfect for facilitating specific marketing campaigns. Whether you want to grow your likes, offer a coupon for Service, or get more people in your store this weekend, drive people to your Landing Page that gives them every reason to comply.

4. Calls to Action. If you’re utilizing Landing Pages, please make sure you have the ideal marketing language to compel the user to do what you want them to do. A call-to-action (CTA) is the part of your message that convinces a person to perform your desired action immediately. People need to be shown or told what to do next (ie: drive them down the sales funnel).

5. Tools. You’re going to need a designer to create your Landing Pages. You’re also going to need help installing Landing Pages on your Facebook page. There are tools like Heyo and Shortstack that help you facilitate these two endeavors. Both of these apps have templates for Landing Pages that are very useful. You may want to consider a custom design if you’ve got the budget. Custom design always has advantages because it communicates your brand more effectively.

Are you currently promoting your Facebook page to generate leads and sales? Now’s the time to start before your competitor gets the same idea.

If you keep up to speed with the latest WordPress news you will already know that the world’s favorite content management system was recently hit with a botnet of “tens of thousands” of computers, according to ZDNet. There is one simple step you can take to mitigate your risk.

If you keep up to speed with the latest WordPress news you will already know that the world’s favorite content management system was recently hit with a botnet of “tens of thousands” of computers, according to ZDNet. There is one simple step you can take to mitigate your risk.

WordPress sites have been under attack from a botnet

Some experts are suggesting that the worst is yet to come. CloudFlare has said that in the latest round from these botnet‘s that it fends off 60m requests in 1 hour. So let’s take just a second to consider the most simple step you can take to prevent your WordPress site from becoming victim to these attacks and improve the security of your WordPress site. The requests appear to be coming from a sophisticated botnet that may be comprised of as many as 100,000 computers, based on the number of unique IP addresses the attacks are coming from. CloudFlare estimates the botnet has the power to test as many as 2 billion password in an hour.

What’s going on with these attacks on WordPress sites?

Matt Mullenweg recently made a post on his personal blog and attempted to play down the sensationalist aspect of the botnet story.

Right now there’s a botnet going around all of the WordPresses it can find trying to login with the “admin” username and a bunch of common passwords, and it has turned into a news story (especially from companies that sell “solutions” to the problem).

The simple 1 step solution to securing your site

Given that the botnet appears to be targeting administrative accounts by using a dictionary attack you should immediately remove the default ‘admin’ account that ships out of the box with each WordPress installation. This one simple change could step the botnet from affecting your site.

Of course… ensuring whatever account you’re using as the admin account on your WordPress installation is using a decent password is a positive second step that you can take as well. Setting a random password is likely to repel any brute force dictionary attack attempts at accessing your site. Randomized passwords aren’t uncrackable… but they are a strong deterrent in situations like this and can help protect your password from predators.

I always recommend LastPass as it simplifies keeping your passwords random, different for each site, and yet always available and simple to use. LastPass Sentry even monitors your accounts for security breaches for free! In addition to LastPass you should use Google Authenticator (which works with LastPass) and use two-step authentication. You should use it because 2-step verification can significantly reduce the chances of having the personal information in your Google account stolen by someone else.

In this digital age when everything from banking accounts to photo albums are online, people are left wondering just how safe the Internet age is. While the risks are real, staying protected is possible. Being aware and taking the right measures can help you avoid being a target. Jennifer Morris tells you how.

In this digital age when everything from banking accounts to photo albums are online, people are left wondering just how safe the Internet age is. While the risks are real, staying protected is possible. Being aware and taking the right measures can help you avoid being a target. Jennifer Morris tells you how.

Why Passwords are Stolen

Mainly to obtain profit, but also as a way to gain leverage and embarrass or expose a person or company, passwords are stolen for several reasons. It’s easy to think “Oh, I don’t have anything worth stealing” but that’s where you are wrong. Even if someone hacking your social media account isn’t at the top of your worry list, someone stealing your personal information and identity or implanting viruses on your computer and sending them to others should be. Hackers target large corporations, rich CEOs and average Joe Blows and Jane Does.

How it is Done

Passwords are stolen in several ways. According to an infographic on preventing hacking, common security breaches happen through guessing, phishing, shoulder surfing and computer programs that track keystrokes or use a database of passwords to hack accounts. Guessing is a common hacking tool, as most people create passwords using personal information that is easy to remember, such as birthdays, anniversaries and names. Tricking users into providing information through legitimate-seeming emails and prompts is another common way. Hackers also roam Internet cafes and libraries and watch users type personal information into websites.

Don’t Be a Target

While there are risks when using the Internet and social media, there are many ways to stay protected. Don’t ever click on links that seem suspicious, are from people you don’t know or are unorganized and hard to understand. If someone you know sent you a link without an explanation, contact the person and ask them if the link is legitimate. When creating passwords, don’t use personal information or easy-to-remember terms that can be easily guessed by a hacker. Also, avoid using the same password on several sites. This way, if one of your passwords is stolen hackers won’t be able to break into every one of your accounts. Monitor your accounts online closely. Identity theft companies such as Lifelock can help users stay protected by monitoring accounts and alerting them if something seems suspicious.

Clean Up Your Accounts

Linking your accounts together is a great tool to stay connected and many common apps have access to your Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn accounts for this reason. Every once in a while, though, you’ll want to clean up your accounts and make sure you are only allowing apps you use to have access to your accounts. Eliminating unused apps helps you stay protected from unnecessary security breaches. Do this by logging into your social networking accounts and through the settings tab, un-authorize applications that are no longer in use. LinkedIn makes this easy, by allowing users to check off apps they want removed. Twitter and Facebook also have this feature, but revoking access to apps must be done one by one.

Password Fails

In late October, SplashData.com released its annual “25 Worst Passwords of the Year” list, using notable password breaches from Yahoo!, LinkedIn, eHarmony and others. Just in time for Halloween, the results were scary. At the top of the list were “password,” “123456? and “abc123.” These frequently used passwords put people at risk of being hacked and haven their information or identity stolen.

“…Those who have been through it can tell you how terrifying it is to have your identity stolen because of a hacked password,” said Morgan Slain, SplashData CEO, on the company’s site. “We’re hoping that with more publicity about how risky it is to use weak passwords, more people will start taking simple steps to protect themselves by using stronger passwords and using different passwords for different websites.”

Jennifer is an ardent follower of cloud solution trends and database security improvement. She shares tips and advice with her readers on several business-related sites.

Paul’s Recommendations

I always recommend LastPass as it simplifies keeping your passwords random, different for each site, and yet always available and simple to use. LastPass Sentry even monitors your accounts for security breaches for free! In addition to LastPass you should use Google Authenticator and use two-step authentication. You should use it because 2-step verification can significantly reduce the chances of having the personal information in your Google account stolen by someone else.

By: ScreenWerksCostik
Source: http://vimeo.com/djcostik

Check out the final preview of my latest video project, DVD DIM SUM. Even better, you can now go to www.djcostik.com and order your own physical copy of the DVD! It comes with a high quality version of the entire mix, including never before seen video remixes, as well as, the bonus section AND DEN SUM. Hope you all ENJOY!

DVD Dim Sum refers to an exclusive movie video mix prepared with custom audio/video remixes.

Traditionally served in individual portions, DVD Dim Sum allows you to view a combination of music video projects all in one sitting.

Enjoy!

AVAILABLE NOW at www.djcostik.com

Download FULL DVD DIM SUM AUDIO MIX here:

*Above clip includes additional production by Jay E from ScreenWerks

By: Henry Jun Wah Lee / Evosia
Source: http://vimeo.com/evosia

Please watch full screen and turn up the volume!

Alchemy is a short film about transformation. In nature, everything is constantly changing: the earth, the sky, the stars, and all living things. Spring is followed by summer, fall and winter. Water turns into clouds, rain and ice. Over time, rivers are created, canyons carved, and mountains formed. All of these elements, mixed together, create the magic of nature’s alchemy.

Like us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/evosiastudios
Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/evosia
Website: http://evosiastudios.com
Music: A Better Place by Justin R. Durban, http://justindurban.com

Read more on my blog: http://www.evosiastudios.com/2013/04/02/alchemy/

Available also in 4K. For licensing and other inquiries, please contact info@evosia.com.

President Barack Obama is setting aside $100 million in a 2014 budget to start a project that would have NASA drag an asteroid into orbit around the Moon for research purposes.

President Barack Obama is setting aside $100 million in a 2014 budget to start a project that would have NASA drag an asteroid into orbit around the Moon for research purposes.

Yes… this is as bad ass as it sounds. It looks like NASA may get the first chunk of money needed to kick off a project to snag an asteroid, put it in orbit around the Moon, and study it. According to Space.com’s Mike Wall, the total cost could run $2.6 billion. That rolls out to about twenty-six times the initial amount getting kicked in by the 2014 budget. The inital cash injection would be used to find a suitable asteroid.

Provided they find one, this could generate excitement for the space agency and renew America’s interest in the space program. It might also fuel the Asteroid Mining equivelent of a gold rush.

Read more at Christian Science Monitor